Don Bosco Philippines South Province

Don Bosco Philippines – South (FIS), January 2018. Cluny, France.

The Taize Community invited young people from Asia, Africa, and Latin America to participate for the three months intercontinental meetings. They are invited in order to bring a testimony of faith and commitment to the other young people they meet, and to help make manifest the universal communion we share in Christ.

Ms. Patricia Rachel “Chinggay” Farrarons, an active youth leader in Don Bosco – Lawaan and a Salesian Youth Movement (SYM) volunteer, was one of the chosen young people in the Philippines to participate to the Taize intercontinental meetings from October 2017 to January 2018 in Cluny, France.

Throughout their stay, they shared rooms and houses with others from different countries and cultures. And took part in the daily program: common prayer in the morning, midday and evening, group and personal reflection moments, and various practical activities. And they also shared stories of their lives and commitments to others way back home. What challenges do the young people in our country face? How do we live our faith and express solidarity with others?

Ms. Chinggay, as she is commonly known, shared her personal reflection on her experiences of the said meetings, “I believe that this…was a perfect chance for us to pause and to give time for ourselves to process our thoughts, our feelings and everything that has happened to us back in our own communities and in Taize. (Taize’s way of life is anchored on the spirit of community and camaraderie.) Our day to day lives have proven that in sharing your life with others, you are also able to understand yourself more. Because we are in communion with others, we are in communion with Christ as well.” “…we do not need to highlight our differences in practices and traditions as these may be influenced by our cultures, but instead focus on our communal love for Christ and His teachings…there’s a hope for ecumenism to be a norm and find reconciliation in the belief that we are all striving to be like Christ.”

The next Taize International gathering called “Pilgrimage of Trust and Reconciliation: will be held in Hong Kong from 8 to 12 August 2018.

(Contributor: Commission on Youth Ministry – FIS)